Akashvani, Bhawanipatna

All India Radio, Bhawanipatna extends services to a couple of district of Orissa, Kalahandi & Nuapada, in its service zone. Nuapada was a subdivision of erstwhile Kalahandi district.

Kalahandi has got its glorious past and a rich cultural background. As per Lt. Elliot, Deputy Commissioner, Raipur, this area was known as "Kharonde" (Karond) in Nagpur region. Since the year 1905, the name Kalahandi has been very commonly used. It was a part of Bengal presidency then.

In the past, Kalahandi was ruled by the Somavansis and Gangas. In 1005 AD Nagavansis ruled over the state. The present Junagarh was the capital of the Kalahandi kingdom up to 1849 AD. In 1853, Kalahandi came under British rule and in 1882, the great kondh rebellion originated from the Ashurgarh, in Narla region, Kalahandi district was formed after independence on the 1st November 1949.

Erstwhile Kalahandi district (Kalahandi and Nuapada) is located in the Southwestern part of Orissa. The total area is confined within 82 20' E to 83 47' E longitudes and 19 3' N to 21 5' N latitudes. The total area is around 11,835 square Km. In the North it is bounded by Bolangir and Bargarh of Orissa and Raipur of Chhatisgarh, in the South, Nabarangpur, Koraput and Rayagada, in the East, Phulbani and Raigada and in the West it is bounded by Nabarangpur and Raipur district of Chhatisgarh. These two districts are having both plain land and hilly terrain. Mainly the hilly terrains are found in the Western part of Nuapada district and Southwestern part of Bhawanipatna Subdivision of Kalahandi. The hilly regions are mostly covered with dense forest. Kodinga Mali is the highest peak of mountain, with the height about 4182 ft. at Karlapal region of Thuamul Rampur block. Thuamul Rampur is called as the Kashmir of Orissa.

Orissa Mostly people here speak in Oriya whereas other regional languages of India are also prevalent. But, the typical Kalahandi dialect is the lingua franca among the people of all tribes and castes. People of some parts of Nuapada also speak Chhatisgarhi.

Bhawanipatna, the district headquarter of Kalahandi is situated in 20 North latitude and 83. 10. 40" East longitude on 220 meter MSL. It is about 425 km South West of Bhubaneswar, the state capital. The nearest Airport is around 300 km at Raipur, Chhatisgarh. The nearest railway station is at 35 km away in Kesinga. Educational institutions like, Govt, college Bhawanipatna, Govt. Women's College, Law College, B.Ed. College, ITI and dozens of schools are there in this place. A stadium and a Gymnasium are there in Bhawanipatna. Agricultural research organizations like Regional Research and Technology Transfer system, OUAT, Krushi Bigyan Kendra, promoting agricultural activities. A high power (10 KW) TV transmitter with programme generation facility is functioning at Bhawanipatna.

This station started commencing from the 30 December 1993, mainly relaying the capital station, AIR, Cuttack. Gradually, new productions of this station found place in the transmission. Presently this station is originating its own programmes in all its three transmissions excepting news and important programmes being broadcast in slate hookup. Prior to the commencement of this station, this area was under the service zone of AIR, Jeypore, which is 162 km towards south.

DEMOGRAPHIC DETAILS OF THE POPULATION (AS PER 2001 CENSUS)

BRIEF HISTORY